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saudadevemcorrendo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Murder
_cecilie_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Is Kinbote who he says he is, a Zemblan homosexual ex-king named Charles Xavier (all X-men fans are laughing in glee right now) or is he Botkin, a mad Russian literature professor (like Nabokov says himself)? Is he maybe Shade himself who's pretending to be someone else having invented his own death, who is now making fun of his own poem or alternatively editors reviewing and commenting his work who are getting everything hilariously wrong? Is he a fictionalized distorted Nabokov like the possible self-reference on the last page suggests?
Is Shade really dead, killed by mistake by an unrelated mad man who wanted to shoot the judge who admitted him into the mental hospital or was he killed by Kinbote or was he never dead at all?
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Stalking, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Gun violence, Suicide, and War
halaagmod's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Death
Moderate: Murder and Gun violence
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
tiernanhunter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Confinement, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
ru_th's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
[…] For we die every day; oblivion thrives / Not on dry thighbones but on blood-ripe lives, / And our best yesterdays are now foul piles / Of crumpled names, phone numbers and foxed files. / I’m ready to become a floweret / Or a fat fly, but never, to forget. / […]
Moderate: Blood, Child death, and Death
Minor: Murder, Suicide, Racism, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
theremightbecupcakes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Classism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Confinement, and Murder
bugcollector's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
♬♩ The blinds wide open so he can see
u in the dark when you sleeping ♫♪
It's funny that nabokov despised Dostoyevsky when they are both overly chatty and indulge in racist and misogynistic comments.
It's likely that he tried to mock this style here, but when the mockery is as annoying as the original then maybe it's just as bad?
Otherwise, it's an entertaining novel. Kinbote's own index about himself was enlightening, he's a true humble king and a loving friend.
I only understood the suicide- Gradus killing Shade on purpose bit at the end after farther reading.
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicide, Alcohol, Grief, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Mental illness
aegireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, and Homophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship